The easiest and most effective way to stop unsecured creditors from calling is to pay off the debt. Most people reading this will say, “Obviously, but if I had the money to pay them, I would.” This being the case, there are a couple options available:
Negotiating With Your Creditors
By negotiating with your creditors it is possible that you can settle your debt for less than the amount you actually owe. In rare instances debts have been negotiated to as low as 30% of the balance currently owed. There are companies who specialize in making settlement arrangements with creditors on behalf of consumers, so if you don’t have the expertise to negotiate the debts on your own, perhaps this is a better option for you to consider. By filling out a form, PayingPaul.Com can match you directly with a leading provider of this type of debt service.
One of the main advantages of using this type of service is that third party debt collectors are legally obligated under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) to contact them instead of you once they receive written notification that you are being represented by someone else. Even better, federal law requires every state to adopt these provisions. In some states like California, Texas, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine (with exceptions), Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington DC the original creditor is bound by similar provisions as well. This does not necessarily mean that your creditor calls will stop completely because oftentimes your credit card companies will ignore the written notification or pretend they never received it, but it is definitely a start.
States that have debt collection laws to protect consumers but have not yet adopted the FDCPA to pertain to original creditors are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming.
Cease Communication Letters For Harassing Calls
Under the FDCPA, third party creditors (debt collection agencies) are obligated to honor Cease & Desist letters from debtors. A cease communication letter is a written request to the creditor demanding that they stop calling you. Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is obligated to honor this request and can only communicate with the debtor to notify them of a change in account status, like the account is being forwarded to another office for collection. Cease & Desist letters are generally considered an antiquated practice because they have been known to cause escalated collection activity. That is, creditors will oftentimes simply send your account to attorney to collect the full balance once they receive this type of debt letter.
Stopping Calls At Work
Under the FDCPA, third party debt collection agencies are prohibited from calling consumers at their place of employment if they have already been notified that the consumer’s work prohibits such calls. For every violation of the FDCPA, consumers can be awarded up to $1000 plus attorney fees. Moreover, even without the backing of the law, many creditors will honor your request to stop calling at work because the last thing they want is for the debtor to lose their employment. After all, with no income it will be difficult for them to collect the debt.
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